Uk ewaste illegally dumped in ghana environment the. Electronic waste trade and sustainability in agbogbloshie, accra. The most common methods of solid waste disposal in ghana are through the combustion and land filling. Ghana and nigeria have become a major destination for e waste worldwide. This paper looks at the magnitude ewaste trade in ghana by analyzing the growing trade in electronic products ostensibly to bridge the digital divide. Two electronic waste sites or scrapyards in ghana were selected by the researchers.
Ewaste management, disposal and its impacts on the. Global and local implications 8 weee or e waste is often misunderstood as comprising only computers and related it equipment. Ghana has been cited as the country with the biggest ewaste dumping site in the world. Government policy and initiatives on ewaste in ghana by. Agbogbloshies e waste area covers almost a square kilometre strewn with a wide variety of electronics and smoking fires of burning waste. Our analysis of samples taken from two electronic waste e waste scrap yards in ghana has revealed severe contamination with hazardous chemicals. The main recycling activity is the manual dismantling of all types of waste and. Aug 04, 2008 our analysis of samples taken from two electronic waste e waste scrap yards in ghana has revealed severe contamination with hazardous chemicals. The question, he argues, is whether secondhand electronics are being exported to ghana as ewaste or to supply a demand for cheap electronics that can help the country bridge the digital divide. Pdf on jul 1, 2012, martin otengababio and others published electronic waste. Electronic waste is considered any electronic device, appliance, or piece of equipment that has reached its endoflife.
Report on findings of the waste composition study for the aryee diki electoral area of accra new town, accra prepared by the millennium cities initiative mci, a project of the earth institute, columbia university and the university of ghana, legon for submission to. The burning truth behind an ewaste dump in africa smithsonian. In view of the ineffective waste disposal structures, the lack of overall strategies and insufficient environmental awareness, it is. Ghanas way towards sustainable ewaste recycling first.
Sorting through used electronics is a livelihood for many in the agbogbloshie area, but toxic e waste poses serious health risks. Ewaste, or electronic waste, is a broad term referring to a range of electronics, including. Jun 01, 2016 e waste, the term given to discarded electronic appliances, is often shipped by developed nations to poorer countries such as ghana. The urban solid waste management conundrum in ghana. This paper looks at the magnitude ewaste trade in ghana by analyzing the. Reliable national data on waste generation and composition that will inform effective planning on waste management in ghana is absent. Economic development and changes in consumer habits are producing increasingly complex waste streams in ghana that include a significant amount of plastic waste. Proceedings of the 28th enviroinfo 2014 conference, oldenburg, germany september 1012, 2014 electronic waste risk assessment and management in ghana d. The hazardous and electronic waste control and management bill 21 6. A swiss contribution to the implementation of the basel convention switzerland is supporting developing and newly industrialising countries china, india, south africa, peru and colombia in the establishment of environmentally sound. In this area the poorest classes of accra have been spending years dismantling, recovering, weighing and reselling parts and metals extracted from the. The government has been asked to strengthen environmental legislation to prohibit the dumping of hazardous materials, such as electronic waste, in the country.
Keeping our electronic detritus circulating within our. According to the oecd, e waste is any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its endof life. The damaging effects of ewaste on ghanaian children masahudu ankiilu kunateh, ghanadot accra, april 19, ghanadot the united nations environmental programme estimates that 2050million tones of electronic wastes ewastes are discarded each year throughout the world, whilst 70% of these products end up in poor countries including, ghana. Pdf electronic waste management in ghana issues and. Sep 19, 2016 in ghana, per capita generation of plastic waste stands at 0. Ghana and nigeria have become a major destination for ewaste worldwide. Jan, 2016 the burning truth behind an e waste dump in africa ending the toxic smoke rising from an iconic dump in ghana will take more than curbing western waste. Oct 02, 20 in martin otengababio, electronic waste management ghana issues and practices. The west african country of ghana, currently undergoing intense economic growth, is an important centre for receiving, reusing, recovering and disposing of electronic waste. Agbogbloshie is a nickname of a commercial district on the korle lagoon of the odaw river, near the center of accra, ghana s capital city.
Designate points at which electronic waste shall be deposited by importers. Alake and ighalo 2012 defined e waste as waste electrical and electronic equipment weee that are nonbiodegradable, industrial and synthetic. Since the late 1990s, industrial countries have been sending their ewaste here. Health seeking behaviours among electronic waste workers in ghana. Because there is very low level of awareness of the hazards and health risk associated with ewaste, little children childlaborers and adult scavengers are seen in.
Pdf the recent expanded usage of electronic materials like computers, television sets and. Informal processing of electronic waste in agbogbloshie, ghana. Electronic waste e waste is one of the fastestgrowing pollution problems worldwide given the presence if a variety of toxic substances which can contaminate the environment and threaten human health, if disposal protocols are not meticulously managed. National case of scrap leadacid batteries management in. Multiple elemental exposures amongst workers at the. Agbogbloshie is a slum in the heart of accra, ghana, that has achieved notoriety as one of the most polluted slums in the world by hosting one of the largest electronic waste dump in africa. One of the largest e waste sites is agbogbloshie ghana. Annual global ewaste management gem network meeting, july 15. Near the slum called old fadama, the agbogbloshie site became known as a destination for externally generated automobile and electronic scrap collected from mostly the western world. Agbogbloshie, a former fertile wetland in ghana, is now one of the worlds largest ewaste dumping site. In ghana, the global problem of ewaste has local consequences. The burning truth behind an e waste dump in africa ending the toxic smoke rising from an iconic dump in ghana will take more than curbing western waste. Electronic banking has blurred the boundaries between different financial institutions, enabled new financial products and services, and made existing financial services available in different packages.
Regulations on the import and endoflife management of refrigerators, freezers and air conditioners 21 6. Uk ewaste illegally dumped in ghana environment the guardian. Proper solid waste management swm has become one critical environmental challenge faced by cities in ghana due to its externalities. The environmental and health risks posed by the cancer causing agents in electronics waste or e waste are getting closer to many ghanaians living in and around the e waste processing centre in agbogbloshie in accra. Pdf plastic waste management in ghana researchgate. Poisoning the poor electronic waste in ghana greenpeace. I think that by watching and at least being aware of these issues, such as the electronic waste that is occuring in our world, people will at least be more aware of the problems our world faces. The damaging effects of ewaste on ghanaian children. Status of regulatory initiatives on e waste in ghana 21 6. Electronic waste is a problem in nigeria today because in most nigerian cities, ewaste is dumped alongside with hospital and other municipal wastes. Photographer kevin mcelvaney documents a former wetland in ghana which is home to the worlds largest ewaste dumping site, and where most. To help obtain this data on a regional basis, selected households in each region were recruited to obtain data on rate of waste generation, physical composition of waste, sorting and separation efficiency and per capita of waste.
However, the nonbiodegradable nature of plastic waste poses a big problem since the plastic waste can stay in the environment for a quiet period of time causing all sorts of problems. Introduction electronic waste is the term used to describe old end of life eol electronic appliances that have. Due to its international recognition as a major informal e waste recycling centre in the world, this section provides some highlights of the agbogbloshie recycling site, which is located at. Obsolete eee includes computers, televisions, mobile phones, printers. National case of scrap leadacid batteries management in ghana. The burning truth behind an ewaste dump in africa ending the toxic smoke rising from an iconic dump in ghana will take more than curbing western waste. Despite the potential risks presented by occupational and community exposures to ewaste, few studies have examined the health effects of this waste on human health in this. Transition to sound recycling of e waste and car waste.
And that is because, ewaste from almost every part of the world finds its way into the country, potentially poisoning its land and underground water sources with a cocktail of heavy metal chemicals such as cadmium, lead, barium, mercury. Electronic waste workers are prone to various illnesses and injuries from numerous hazards thus the need for them to seek health care. The ewaste processing sites in ghana exemplifies the challenges africa policy makers face with respect to ewaste and its impacts on health and the environment. Supporting ghana to introduce a sustainable ewaste management system. The toxic effects of electronic waste in accra, ghana. Dec 12, 2015 in ghana, the global problem of ewaste has local consequences. The question, he argues, is whether secondhand electronics are being exported to ghana as e waste or to supply a demand for cheap electronics that can help the country bridge the digital divide.
May 16, 2011 uk e waste illegally dumped in ghana ecologist. In this manual, weee and e waste are used as synonyms, and include all the 10. Ewaste disposal effects on the aquatic environment. Pdf electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices. International media such as the guardian, al jazeera and the washington post have helped turn this place into. This amount, in 2009, represented 280,000 metric tons of ewaste that entered ghana, of which only 1% were processed through a formal facility. The contents of the ghana ewaste country assessment are those of the authors. There is little hard evidence to measure how much ewaste is dumped either globally or at agbogbloshie. The aim of this study was to describe healthseeking behavior, and social and other factors affecting this behavior, among electronic waste workers at agbogbloshie, accra, ghana.
Sustainable management of plastic waste in ghana ghana. A swiss contribution to the implementation of the basel convention switzerland is supporting developing and newly industrialising countries china, india, south africa, peru and colombia in the establishment of environmentally sound, resourceconserving recovery systems for. Our analysis of samples taken from two electronic waste ewaste scrap yards in ghana has revealed severe contamination with hazardous chemicals. Electronic waste ewaste is one of the fastestgrowing pollution problems worldwide given the presence if a variety of toxic substances which can contaminate the environment and threaten human health, if disposal protocols are not meticulously managed. Electronic waste, or ewaste, consists of obsolete electrical and electronic equipment eee. Jun 25, 2009 in a ghana market, they bought a computer cory doctorow 8. This study examines electronic waste dumping as a global health problem, using the agbogbloshie slum in accra, ghana, one of ewastes most well known destinations, as a case study. Ghana is the first country in africa to launch official guidelines for sustainable e waste recycling management, said mr. Rtd visits the countrys most infamous dumping ground. Hazardous and electronic waste control and management act 2016, act 917 fund.
Waste like human excreta cause diseases when poorly dumped as the flies will carry the germ from the excreta to food and water. The rich worlds electronic waste, dumped in ghana citylab. November 30, 2015 general news, ict, lead comments off on multiple studies show ghana e. Ewaste, or electronic waste, is a broad term referring to a range of electronics, including refrigerators, microwaves, and televisions. Ewaste, the term given to discarded electronic appliances, is often shipped by developed nations to poorer countries such as ghana. Electrical and electronic waste e waste has become an emerging environmental and human health problem in the world in the 21st century. As a basic manual for ewaste trainers, this publica tion assembles. This paper looks at the magnitude ewaste trade in ghana by analyzing the growing trade in electronic products ostensibly to. Notwithstanding the efforts by city authorities to remediate the problem, it still remains a monumental challenge and an elusive enterprise. Electrical and electronic waste ewaste has become an emerging environmental and human health problem in the world in the 21st century. Agbogbloshie is a nickname of a commercial district on the korle lagoon of the odaw river, near the center of accra, ghanas capital city. Multiple studies show ghana ewaste contamination is spreading.
Electronic waste or e waste is the disposal of electronic goods such as cell phones, mp3 players, televisions, and computers terada, 2012. British electronic waste is being exported to poor african nations where it threatens the environment and human health, reveals joint panorama and. Millennium cities initiative the university of ghana, legon. Agbogbloshie, ghana, manage and dispose of ewaste mainly from the. Electronic waste e waste recycling is growing worldwide and raising a number of environmental health concerns. About 500 container loads of electronic waste arrive every month, often disguised. Aug 05, 2008 the latest place where we have discovered high tech toxic trash causing horrendous pollution is in ghana. E waste, or electronic waste, is a broad term referring to a range of electronics, including refrigerators, microwaves, and televisions. Legislations used to regulate e waste recycling in absence of a specific e waste bill 23 6. National case of scrap leadacid batteries management in ghana by lambert faabeluon director, standards and compliance enforcement division. Oct 17, 2016 ghana has been cited as the country with the biggest ewaste dumping site in the world. The importation of ewaste from developed countries to developing countries like ghana and other countries in west africa is currently occurring on a massive scale, and is only expected to increase over time. Ghana to set up ewaste recycling plant ghana business news.
The nexus becomes more complex particularly at agbogbloshie, the hub of ewaste activities in ghana, where there is nothing like waste. The aim of the paper was to determine the adoption, challenges and some critical successes of electronic banking in the ghana. Management of waste in ghana proper ways of waste management is explained using the waste management hierarchy. The aim of this study was to describe healthseeking behavior, and social and other factors affecting this behavior, among. Mathias schluep program director of the world resources forum and lead coordinator of the international sri programme. This is evidenced from the uncollected garbage at public spaces and indiscriminate dumping at zones with fatal flaws.
Municipal solid waste characterization and quantification. Illegal ewaste dumped in ghana includes unencrypted hard. Electronic banking and the challenges of the ghanaian. Concerns over dumping of electronic waste business. Electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices. Agbogbloshies ewaste area covers almost a square kilometre strewn with a wide variety of electronics and smoking fires of burning waste. Electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices 153 however, larry summers, a former economist of the world bank in 1991, reportedly justifies the economic sense of the exportation of e waste to developing countries. Electronic waste management in ghana issues and practices 159 an emerging dynamic in the collection of e waste is the increasing spatial extent that collectors have to explore.
Report on findings of the waste composition study for the aryee diki electoral area of accra new town, accra prepared by the millennium cities initiative mci, a project of the earth institute, columbia university and the university of ghana, legon for submission to the accra metropolitan assembly authors. There is little hard evidence to measure how much e waste is dumped either globally or at agbogbloshie. The global impact of ewaste addressing the challenge the global impact of ewaste addressing the challenge safework programme on safety and health at work and the environment international labour office safework 4, route des morillons ch1211 geneve 22 switzerland tel. About 500 container loads of electronic waste arrive every month, often disguised as development aid or secondhand products.